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U.S. Agencies Dance Around Cellphone Use Aloft

Tom Wheeler of the Federal Communications Commission, which is soliciting comment on whether to repeal rules on using devices aboard planes.Credit
Daniel Rosenbaum for The New York Times

WASHINGTON — The Transportation Department said on Thursday that it would consider banning the use of cellphones for voice calls aboard airplanes, a reaction to public outrage at a Federal Communications Commission proposal to lift a rule that has long forbidden the use of mobile phones during flight.

Still, consumers are likely to soon be able to text, check email and connect to the Internet on their cellphones while their flight is above 10,000 feet.

The F.C.C. voted 3 to 2 to go ahead with its own measure to solicit comment on whether to repeal the rule on connected devices. But all five commissioners said they shared the public’s doubts about such a change.

After nearly three weeks of public complaints for even raising the possibility of passengers’ having to sit for hours while seatmates chatter on cellphones, the F.C.C. chairman and the transportation secretary agreed this week that there was a way to both promote technology and protect the public interest.

“Over the past few weeks, we have heard of concerns raised by airlines, travelers, flight attendants, members of Congress and others who are all troubled over the idea of passengers’ talking on cellphones in flight — and I am concerned about this possibility as well,” the transportation secretary, Anthony Foxx, said.

The department will consider whether allowing in-flight voice calls “is fair to consumers,” he said, in part by soliciting public comment.

A Quinnipiac University poll conducted last week found that roughly 59 percent of Americans said using a cellphone to make a call should not be allowed during flights, while just 30 percent said that it should.

An Associated Press-GfK poll, also conducted last week, found 48 percent of Americans did not want to allow cellphone conversations on flights, while 19 percent were in favor of it. About 30 percent had no opinion.

The F.C.C.'s consideration, which focuses on all mobile devices, is different from the Transportation Department’s more narrow interest in voice calls. “This is not a rule about usage,” the F.C.C.'s chairman, Tom Wheeler, said. He added: “This is a rule about technology,” specifically new technology that allows cellphones to be used on airborne planes without interfering with wireless networks on the ground.

“Let me make clear what’s going on here — nothing will be different on your flight tomorrow,” Mr. Wheeler said. He added, “I don’t want to listen to the personal conversations and the business deals of person sitting next to me on a flight.”

Mr. Wheeler and the F.C.C. were surprised last month by the flood of phone calls and emails expressing anger at the possibility that cellphone conversations would be allowed on flights.

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Consumers may be able to use their phones on flights for other purposes, like checking email.Credit
Matt Slocum/Associated Press

Repealing the existing regulation is necessary, Mr. Wheeler said, given the commission’s responsibilities. “If technology eliminates interference and therefore it eliminates the need for an interference protection rule, then we ought to eliminate the rule,” he said.

The commission’s two Republican members voted against seeking public comment on the proposed change. One of them, Ajit Pai, said removing the rule would not be in the public interest because it would allow airlines to infringe on the rights of wireless companies, which have exclusive licenses to use the airwaves at given frequencies.

Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, a Democrat, concurred with the other two Democrats on the panel to go ahead and ask the public about the cellphone proposal. But she made clear that she was unlikely to support a rule allowing in-flight voice calls.

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“If we move beyond what we do here today and actually update our rules to allow calls on planes, we could see a future where our quiet time is monetized and seating in the silent section comes at a premium,” Ms. Rosenworcel said.

“But worse, given the anger this proposal has generated and the negative response of so many of those who work on planes, I fear that our safety would be compromised,” she added.

Mr. Wheeler has regularly said that it would be up to individual airlines whether to permit voice calls. Several airlines in Asia, Europe and Australia allow the practice, but with rules about where the devices can be used and for how long.

In a second cellphone-related measure, the F.C.C. and the wireless telephone industry announced terms that would allow consumers to unlock a cellphone bought from one carrier so that it may work on another’s networks.

The rules will apply to devices bought from a cellphone company under a mandatory subscription plan, once the contract is fulfilled, and to prepaid cellphones no longer than a year from purchase.

Locked mobile devices contain software that prevents cellphones or tablets from being used on compatible mobile networks, and can make it harder for consumers to keep the same mobile phone when changing carriers.

“Consumers win when they are armed with the right information and know their options, especially when it comes to navigating how to unlock a wireless phone after completing a contract,” Mr. Wheeler said in a statement.

The wireless industry has opposed the measure until recently. Its industry group warned consumers not to confuse what the measure would and would not let them to do.

“Devices that work on one provider’s network may not be technologically compatible with another wireless provider’s network,” said Steve Largent, president and chief executive of CTIA-The Wireless Association.

For example, an unlocked device may support voice services but not data when activated on a different network.

A version of this article appears in print on December 13, 2013, on Page B1 of the New York edition with the headline: U.S. Agencies Dance Around Cellphone Use Aloft. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe